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George started to think about what he could do, and where he could take Elliot. They couldn't keep him here. His heart clenched as he thought about it and soon he berated himself mentally.
"I'll be right back," he whispered, even though he knew Elliot wasn't conscious. He ran to the kitchen to wash his hands; he was going to have to clean the wound completely. Carefully, he took a paper towel to pat his hands dry and went back to Elliot.
"Olivia!" He shouted. What the hell was taking her so long?
Olivia was soon there with his first aid kit and blanket. "Sorry; I dropped the kit," she explained.
George nodded, knowing that both of them were going a little crazy at the moment. "I need the saline and the broad gauze. Just open the packages, and don't touch the gauze."
The detective opened them while George checked Elliot's pulse again. Still weak and erratic, but still there.
George took the items from her and noticed that both their hands were shaking, his more so than Olivia's. He quickly opened the saline and poured some on the gauze.
"Open some more. We're going to need it," he said. As he cleaned out the wound he could see Elliot's face twitch in pain. The doctor wished that he could do more for him; seeing Elliot in agony tore at his heart.
Soon he was overtaken by thoughts of where the bullet could be. He knew that it was too high to have hit the bowels. Elliot was breathing evenly and not coughing up blood, so that meant it hadn't hit the lung. There was still the possibility that it may have still hit something and caused a slow bleed. He also knew that if it had hit one of the descending veins or arteries, either the pulmonary or the aorta, Elliot would already be dead.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Why didn't I think of that before?" George said to himself.
"What?" Olivia asked.
The doctor put the used piece of gauze into the package before taking another. "I know someone who has a clinic. He's a cardiologist and he has almost everything necessary to examine Elliot- I need more gauze."
Olivia gave the gauze to him. George folded it and poured some saline over it, placing it over the wound and pressing down. Elliot flinched, and George eased off. He then put a dry piece over it. "Tape," he called.
The detective handed it to him and he taped the gauze down. "This will hold until we get there. It's not that far. Help me get him up," George instructed.
Olivia took one side, while George took the other. Olivia placed the blanket over Elliot's shoulders. Elliot was a complete dead weight, but George wasn't going to let that stop him.
They managed to get him out of the door and to the car. "Who's driving?" Olivia asked.
"I am. I need you to watch him and check for a pulse periodically," George said.
Olivia nodded and pulled open the back door and then she got in and pulled Elliot into the car, while George pushed. Soon the unconscious detective was in the car. "The keys?" Olivia asked.
"I left them in the ignition." The doctor rushed to the driver's side and got in. He turned the car on and took off.
"How's he doing?" George said as he honked the car horn angrily.
A groan came from the back seat.
"I think he's waking up," Olivia said.
The doctor sighed a little in relief, but they still weren't out of the woods yet. There was still the question of whether or not that bullet had caused internal damage. "Try to keep him awake. We're almost there," George said as he honked the horn again.
Soon George arrived at the building. He parked and got out, then he opened the back door and helped Olivia pull Elliot out of the car. The detective was semi-conscious when they took him into the clinic.
"George, what the hell is going on?" George's friend, Michael, asked as they walked in.
"I need some help, Michael. It's a gunshot wound and I need an x-ray immediately. I'll explain later," George said when he saw that the man was about to protest.
"Come on, then," Michael ordered.
They followed the cardiologist to the x-ray room. George exhaled sharply, thankful that Michael worked after-hours on Fridays- he always stayed a few hours late to take care of the office's paper work. If Elliot had to get injured at all, this was the best time for it to happen.
"Set him on the table," Micheal said as they entered the room.
They complied, and George started to help the doctor set up the x-ray machine.
"What are we dealing with?" Michael asked.
"A gunshot wound located between the chest and abdomen," George said. "I already cleaned it out. We couldn't take him to the hospital, but I want to be sure that there is no internal bleeding."
The doctor nodded. "If there is, he will probably have to be taken to the hospital anyway. I don't have all the tools here to do surgery. The most I can do is check and stitch him up."
George nodded. He was praying that the bullet hadn't hit anything; he had never felt so panicked in his life. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his hands were still trembling slightly.
He wouldn't be able to take losing Elliot. His sanity wouldn't let him.
Micheal moved them behind the safety of the screen, and they stood there as the pictures were taken. After that was finished, George and Olivia helped Elliot to an exam room, while Micheal examined the x-rays.
George hovered over Elliot, who gave a small groan.
"I know, it hurts, but we'll get you something for the pain soon," George said, softly.
The exam room door opened to reveal Michael, who was carrying the x-ray and supplies to stitch Elliot up. George took the x-ray and held it up to the light.
"There is no internal bleeding at all," he said with a sigh of relief.
Olivia let out the breath she was holding, and George put down the x-ray to help Michael with the supplies.
"The bullet is fine where it is. There isn't any reason to take it out and it would probably cause unnecessary damage trying to get it out," Michael said as he pulled on a pair of gloves. "I need you to give him a dose of morphine. This is going to be painful."
George took a syringe and the bottle of morphine. He was sure that Elliot didn't need a large dose, but he didn't want to under-medicate either. Picking up an alcohol swab, he cleaned Elliot's arm and put the needle in. He then discarded the used needle.
Michael started the stitching the wound, and George could see that the morphine was taking effect; Elliot wasn't in as much pain. But from the looks of things, the relief wasn't complete.
The wound was soon closed, and Michael and Olivia walked out of the room to get some antibiotics and painkillers.
George gripped Elliot's hand, and he felt a soft squeeze back. "Still hurts," Elliot whispered, his voice cracking.
"I know. We'll be out of here soon and then you can get some rest." George said with a small, comforting smile.
The door finally opened, and Michael and Olivia came in. "Help me get Elliot up," George said. Michael got on the other side of Elliot, and this time Elliot was able to hold some of his weight.
George looked at him and could see the small grimace on his face. "Hang in there," George said soothingly.
They walked slowly to the car. This time George got into the back seat with Elliot. "Thank you," George said as Michael waved him off.
"It's nothing," Micheal said. "I gave you everything I have to stop infection, and some painkillers."
George nodded. Michael closed the door to the car, and George sighed before looking at Elliot, who was leaned against him.
"Told you I would save you," he said softly, not aware that the detective heard him.